Modern Design And Feng Shui Can Co-Exist Harmoniously

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Feng Shui and modernist architecture have always had something of an uneasy relationship; the sharp points and reflective glass surfaces of modernist architecture are anathema to traditional Chinese geomancy’s favoured practices. Indeed, one of the most famous Feng Shui showdowns happened between two architecture giants in Hong Kong during the gestation of IM Pei’s Bank of China and Lord Norman Foster’s HSBC Building. The architectural integrity of both buildings ended up being preserved, but not before the necessary Feng Shui amendments were properly made.

On a much smaller scale and closer to our shores, architect Melvyn Kanny of MJ Kanny Architect was not daunted when his client informed him that his most pressing request was to ensure his home was completely Feng Shui compliant. In fact, Kanny was more concerned by the fact that the neighbouring building had received architectural accolades. “We had just completed a house in Seputeh Heights when my future client purchased a piece of land nearby with the intention of building a house. I guess he liked what he saw, because he got in touch to ask me if I would be interested in designing his house. His piece of land had a unique shape in the form of a quadrant on a sloped gradient, and had great potential for an interesting house. To top that, it was opposite an award-winning house, which meant that the bar was high - exactly the kind of challenge we relish!” Kanny enthuses.